The promise and limits of ‘mental health first aid’

January 25, 2015 1:23 AM

12
0

New programs are training laypeople to deal with psychological emergencies—but how much do they actually help those in crisis?

If you are one of the millions of Americans who have been trained in first aid, you know what to do if you are walking down the street and see a stranger suddenly clutch his chest and collapse. But if that same man instead is shouting to himself, or having a panic attack, it’s much less clear what a...